Tag Archives: stimulus

The Stimulus Problem

By Admin | Published: August 3, 2011

Now that US politicians have come together to avoid a short-term liquidity issue by raising the US debt ceiling, we should turn our attention to the long-term solvency issue that remains for the country. There are many drivers of the growth in US debt from yearly deficit spending from current year budgets (or lack of any budget) to deficit spending (borrowing) on entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.

On entitlements, there is a trade-off between providing current level of benefits that are in excess of not only what beneficiaries have paid into the system, but also in excess of what … …READ MORE

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Gasoline to the Rescue!

By Admin | Published: June 27, 2011

The NYT reports that average price for regular gasoline at filling stations in the United States fell 11.22 cents to about $3.63 a gallon, according to the Lundberg Survey, a market research company. From its peak at near $4.00 a gallon in May, the average price has fallen 37.2 cents, but this doesn’t include last weeks drop in crude from the release of SPR and IEA oil. If we include last week, the drop is around 47 cents.

The rule of thumb is that a 10 cent drop in gasoline translates into $39 million per day of extra consumer cash … …READ MORE

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My Congressional Testimony on the 2009 Stimulus Bill

By Admin | Published: February 18, 2011

On Wednesday, I was asked to provide testimony to Congress on, “The Stimulus: Two Years Later.” I joined Prof. John Taylor, Dr. Russell Roberts, Dr. J.D. Foster, Alex Brill and Chris Edwards on a panel before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. While there was general agreement that the stimulus bill was ineffective, there was one startling fact presented by AEI’s Brill that stood out: $200 billion of the original $787 billion stimulus funds has not been spent. This fact alone should be kept in mind when we hear calls from more stimulus and deficit spending.

Below is … …READ MORE

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Blinder & Zandi: Our Stimulus Worked!

By Admin | Published: July 28, 2010

The NYT reports today the findings of two Keynesian economists on the policy prescriptions they gave to solve the economic crisis. It worked! Honestly, can anyone argue that $862 billion of spending won’t help? Actually, they lump the Wall Street bailout, the bank stress tests, the emergency lending and asset purchases by the Federal Reserve, and the Obama administration’s fiscal stimulus program all together to say that it all worked.

The better analysis would’ve extended the thought to: what are the costs and what are the benefits of these programs? Also, what would’ve been the costs and benefits of a … …READ MORE

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No Jobs=More Spending, More Deficits

By Admin | Published: January 11, 2010

President Obama announced Friday that he would be pushing for more spending on job-creation programs. Many in the media are circling that fact that had the participation rate in the US stayed the same as last month, the unemployment rate would’ve jumped to 10.4%.

Obama has urged Congress to pass a jobs package that includes new infrastructure spending, aid to small businesses, funding for state and local governments struggling to keep workers and incentives for green investments according to the Hill. “On Friday, he also called on them to include $5 billion to expand a tax credit for manufacturers who … …READ MORE

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Twitter from Washington D.C

By Admin | Published: February 25, 2009

Andy’s trip to Washington has brought him into many discussions over Obama’s address to congress on the stimulus package.

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The Stimulus Plan: The Good, The Bad & The Very Ugly

By Admin | Published: February 12, 2009

stimulus package 3 The Stimulus Plan: The Good, The Bad & The Very Ugly

 

 

 

 

 

Shockingly, they heard the cries from the financial markets and adjusted the package. They reduced the overall amount to below $800 billion, supposedly bumped up the number of jobs the plan will create, and cut back on some of the pork.

Late yesterday, the US House and Senate conferees came to an agreement on the Obama stimulus plan.

A 15k tax credit for anybody buying a home over the next year was dropped, $500-per-worker credit for lower & middle-income taxpayers was cut to $400, and a $54 billion award to money-losing businesses over the

… …READ MORE

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